Cavs Fan Guide: 5 Cavs Championship T-Shirts We Love

With the Cavs victory in Game 7 of the NBA Finals June 19, Believeland devotees are finally able to splurge on championship gear for the first time since Dec. 27, 1964. We've all seen the coveted locker room T-shirt, but these championship shirts will help you stand out from the rest of the 216.

Seeing the King’s emotional celebration as he held the trophy following the Cavs win against the Golden State Warriors was a rush. Commemorate the moment with this cartoon version of LeBron James on the Ilthy Trophy T-Shirt. $32 in white or gold, ilthy.com

If you love official gear, you’ll want to check out this Fanatics Nike champions T-shirt with the image of King James’ hand holding the championship ring. $34.99, fanatics.com

 

Clevelanders always knew the Cavaliers were destined to become champions, but now that it’s official, it's time to proclaim our status to the rest of the world with the help of Fresh Brewed Tees Champions of the World shirt. $26.99, freshbrewedtees.com

Cleveland Clothing Co. plays off our wine and gold team colors with this clever Won & Golden championship T-shirt. $20.16, 324 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-736-8879; 11435 Euclid Ave., 216-465-9595; cleclothingco.com

After 52 years of the Cleveland sports curse, this Where I’m From The Champion City T-shirt serves as a reminder that CLE is now officially #winning. $28, whereimfrom.com

Cavs Fan Guide: Ilthy's Glen Infante Wants You To Believe in the WIne and Gold

As soon as the Golden State Warriors had completed their miraculous comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder to assure a rematch of the NBA Finals, they were the favorites. Vegas said so, as did the talking heads constantly cluttering ESPN’s airwaves. No one believed in LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Unless you talked to people in Cleveland. To commemorate the city’s faith in the Wine and Gold, Nike launched the Believe marketing campaign. The crown jewel of the marketing strategy came via local artist and Ilthy clothing company owner Glen Infante, who live painted a mural of 12 players above a bold, wine-colored “Believe” outside Quicken Loans Arena. We caught up with Infante and got the story on how it all came about. 

We were approached by Game Seven Marketing, a marketing firm that works for Nike. They wanted to get in touch with a local artist to help create this campaign, Believe. I was referred to them by DJ Steph Floss. He gave me a call and said I have this huge opportunity for you. Nike had seen my work and they said they really liked my portrait style and wondering if I could do it at on a large scale. It was after Game 2 was over, and the Cavs were coming back home. That’s when they hit me up. There was two days before Game 3, so I had to work really fast. It was very spontaneous. I had to drop everything I was doing to work on this.

I started the design process and came up with that mural. They loved it pretty much instantly. It only has players that have shoe deals with Nike, so Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova aren’t on it.

I did the priming before, so it was painted gold. But the whole stenciling and outlining, that was done on site before the Fan Fest of Game 3. I started around 1 p.m., and the Fan Fest started at 5 p.m. Everyone was chanting “Let’s Go Cavs” while we were painting. It it was impossible to paint 12 giant heads so we ended up painting through the Fan Fest and into the game, but people kept us posted on what was happening.

I do think the campaign has been working. If Game 5 didn’t solidify belief and put a stamp on our campaign, then I don’t think fans had any belief from the beginning. Yeah, they’re not the perfect team, but when they’re clicking they look pretty unbeatable. You have to believe in LeBron, especially with Kyrie by his side. I think we’re going to win tonight. — as to told Kevin Stankiewicz

Cavs Fan Guide: "Believeland" author Wright Thompson Pulling for a Cavs Win

Wright Thompson photo by Joe Faraoni, ESPN

Wright Thompson, the globe-trotting senior editor of ESPN Magazine, is calling from Turkey, but his mind is drifting back to Cleveland hours before Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

“I’m literally on the edge of civilization,” says the 39-year-old Thompson, who is covering the Euro Cup soccer tournament. “And my translator is a Golden State fan.”

Thompson’s superb 2010 ESPN Magazine piece “Believeland,” written after the departure of LeBron James, is considered by many the definitive take on Cleveland’s culture of sports failures. He came up with the headline after seeing a T-shirt with the slogan during an eight-day stay that took him from Nighttown in Cleveland Heights to the Venture Inn in Garfield Heights.

“I was pleased that it [story] played well in Cleveland, otherwise people would have known it was bullshit,” says Thompson, who talks about tonight’s game and the player he once called “a 6-8 steel mill.”

ON GAME 6 // The universe has just allowed this to happen. To win two games in a row against this team [Golden State] is virtually impossible. But I’ll say they’ll win tonight.

ON LEBRON // You can’t ask more from a modern American celebrity than what LeBron James has done. He has managed to be the thing that people wanted him to be. And, other than the Decision, he has done it with grace and dignity.

ON A CAVS’ CHAMPIONSHIP // It would end all this waiting, which has become its own thing. I’m a lifelong Saints fan, and I cried when they won the Super Bowl. For a thousand different reasons it should happen, and I’m really hoping it does.

ON CLEVELAND // I feel Cleveland is a lot like New Orleans – if you’re not from there you’ll never be from there. I always thought Dennis Kucinich was a nut until I spent a couple hours with him. The guy is brilliant. We drove through his old neighborhood talking about quantum physics. I dream about Slyman's sometimes. I love that jazz club [Nighttown], and the Lithuanian Club is the coolest place in the world.

By Barry Goodrich

Cavs Fan Guide: Life According to Hype Man Ahmaad Crump

Ahmaad Crump and Nicole Marcellino: Aaron Josefczk

Game 3 of the NBA Finals was a big win for the Cavs, but now the team — and their fans — need all the hype they can get to protect their home court. They need hype man and in-arena host Ahmaad Crump. But maintaining positive morale for more than 20,000 fans in The Q isn’t an easy task, so Crump takes it each game at a time. We caught up with Crump ahead of tonight’s Game 4 matchup.

I knew I wanted to be an announcer for the team when I joined the organization in 2003 as a member of the Rock Squad for the Cleveland Rockers.

Each game, I just look at the big picture. It’s not a sprint, it’s pretty much a marathon. You’ve got to take it one game at a time and focus on the big picture and focus on the goal that’s ahead.

Being the hype man and getting to be a part of the games by doing the introductions and all of that, it’s one of my favorite parts of the job.

Also being in the community, I’m able to make an impact on the kids and the schools and surprise them with tickets to the games.

My definition of hype is excitement, passion and belief. To be a hype man of a team, you have to believe in what you’re hyping up.

At the end of the day, when you’re out there on the floor, it’s got to be all genuine and all passion.

The difference between the hype of regular season games and Finals is what’s at stake. The regular season is great, but the playoffs and the finals — that’s a brand new scene.

You have to take it up a notch, every single game. Just like the players, you have to give every fan a show.

With us playing the Golden State Warriors for the Finals again, a lot of fans have emotions about it, saying it’s a rematch and revenge. But me, I don’t get into that.

I believe in my heart that we can beat them. All the passion that I have, I decide to just spread it out to all of the fans via my microphone.

Being the hype man, and most of all, being a Cavs fan is one of the greatest feelings ever.

Being able to be a part of a team that I was such a big fan of when I was growing up, it’s definitely a humbling experience.

Cavs Fan Guide: Steele’s Sage Advice for Cavs: Stay Aggressive in Game 4

ESPN's Sage Steele interviewing NBA commissioner Adam Silver at halftime of the June 8 NBA Finals game.
Photo courtesy ESPN

As Quicken Loans Arena quaked during the Cavs’ 120-90 blowout victory over the Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, ESPN broadcasters dealt with their own opponent – the crowd noise.

“I love having our set right in the middle of the fans, and they had a reason to be loud in Game 3,” says Sage Steele, host of ESPN’s NBA Countdown show, which broadcasts from The Q with pregame and halftime segments for Game 4 on June 10. “But it is very difficult to broadcast when it’s that loud. We’ve had to experiment with different microphones. Paul Pierce, who is working with us for the Finals, said he thinks Cleveland is the toughest place to play in the NBA.”

The 43-year-old Steele, in her third year as Countdown host, is energized by the fact the Cavs breathed new life into what had been a one-sided series. “I really expected a Cleveland win, because the Cavs are so good at home,” says Steele, who talks with us about the Finals, momentum swings and her friendship with the late Art Modell.

Q: How did the Cavs manage to turn the series around?
A: The Cavs came out and were so aggressive. They were angry… and they needed to be. We (broadcasters) tend to be somewhat critical when they don’t play that way all the time. It was the 20th playoff game this year that has been decided by 25 or more points. I hope we’re done with all the blowouts in this series.

Q: Why are there so many momentum swings in the playoffs?
A: I don’t think there’s ever been a swing like that between two games in Finals history. Every single game is an adjustment. I will be shocked if one, if not both, of the Splash Brothers (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson) come back with big games tonight. LeBron and Kyrie are going to have to show up for the rest of the series. In my mind, there are zero excuses. You’ve got to bring it every game.

Q: You were friends with Art Modell and his family while covering the Baltimore Ravens. What were your impressions of him?
A: I knew Art, his wife Pat and his son David pretty well. I knew them as people. I don’t expect Clevelanders to ever fully understand his side of the story. I totally get that. All I know is that the family missed Cleveland dearly.

Q: What’s it like working with Jalen Rose and Doug Collins on NBA Countdown?
A: Having graduated from Indiana, I’ll never fully love Jalen because he went to Michigan. And I love being around Doug because he’s so smart. This is my favorite year on the show. I’m having a blast.

By Barry Goodrich

Cavs Fan Guide: Mike Golic says Cavs are down but not out

Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic
Photo courtesy of Joe Faraoni, ESPN

With ESPN’s popular morning radio show Mike and Mike in town for the NBA Finals June 8 and 9, Mike Golic has been able to catch up on his sleep.

“At home (Connecticut) I get up at 4:15 a.m.,” says Golic from ESPN’s set at Fan Fest at the Gateway Plaza. “While we’re here, I get to sleep until 5 a.m.”

Golic, the Willowick native who spent nine seasons in the NFL, returns home to find the Cavs in an 0-2 hole against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. “Cavs fans don’t want to hear it, but Golden State is the better team right now,” says the 53-year-old Golic. “The Cavs players look in the mirror and they know they have to play better. They’re good enough to beat this team, and I fully expect Cleveland to win tonight.”

While a potential victory tonight could change the narrative of the series, a loss will all but bury the team’s hopes for a title. “Tomorrow morning we’re either going to be talking about how the Cavs are right back in it or we’ll be talking about Golden State as one of the greatest teams of all time,” says Golic, who talks with us about the Finals, LeBron James and his co-host.

Q: What has been the difference in the series thus far?
A: The role players. In the first two games the bench for Golden State has shot 62 percent, and the bench for Cleveland has shot 31 percent. I was a role player in the NFL, and when you’re asked to perform, you need to contribute. Against a team like Golden State, you need all of your guys to step it up.

Q: Are you surprised by how the series has played out to this point?
A: I think everybody expected a different series. I thought with [Kevin] Love and Kyrie [Irving], Cleveland had a team that could match the Warriors’ 3-point shooting. With Love and Irving out last year, a lot of people didn’t believe Golden State won a legitimate NBA title. Right now, they’re showing everybody that they did.

Q: Are the Cavs relying too much on James in this series?
A: LeBron is the best player in the league. But you need more than one superstar to win in the NBA. That’s why he was able to win a title in Miami. Fairly or unfairly, a lot is asked of him. Cleveland’s offense is too segmented right now and LeBron has shot just eight free throws in the first two games.

Q: What’s it like working alongside Mike Greenberg?
A: The show has been on 17 years but with Greenie it feels like 30 years. We’re very different. We come from different upbringings. I have to explain to him the difference between a flat-head screwdriver and a Phillips screwdriver. Some times I just shake my head in disbelief.

By Barry Goodrich

Cavs Fan Guide: Three Songs of the NBA Finals

The music of a Cavs game can change the mood of the fans and a lift up the entire arena. But when DJ Steph Floss spins at the NBA Finals home games against the Golden State Warriors, June 8 and 10, he wants to catch the ear of the players first. "For the Finals, I try to cater more to the players than I actually do to anyone else, because I feel that they need the extra energy," Floss explains. "The energy that the players put out, the fans will reciprocate." Let's remind the Warriors that this is our Land by turning up the music and jamming out to Floss' three songs of Finals.

"Really Got It" by Jerreau
Floss got hooked on this song back around Christmas time but kept it on the down low until LeBron James recently put it to Instagram. "When LeBron posted the video of him in the car going crazy listening to this song, everyone was like, What is this, What is this? Everybody just fell in love with this song. Great connection. Amazing lyrics. It's a motivational song."

Headed to get that work in on our day off bumping the homie @jerreau new LP "Never How You Plan". What's a day off though!?!? Let's go people. Don't let nothing stop u from having fun, working hard and smiling! #StartingHoopingForTheNikeCheck #StriveForGreatness #RWTW #NIT

A video posted by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Apr 12, 2016 at 9:01am PDT

"Summer Sixteen" by Drake
Like Drake, the Cavs are looking for revenge the summer of 2016. "It's very simple," Floss explains. "We are looking for revenge playing the Golden State [Warriors] again this year." Some fans may be upset with Drake, ever since he dissed James and Kyrie Irving on Instagram. But let's let bygones be bygones, especially since Floss fired back plenty of friendly shots at Drake on his own Instagram, and James and Drake settled their dispute with a public hug and a near-kiss on the cheek.



"Trap or Die" by Young Jeezy
 When the Golden State Warriors come to play on our home turf June 8, the Cavs are letting them know who's house it is, true to Young Jeezy's lyrics, "Last time I checked, I am the man on these streets." "People were questioning whether we are that good," Floss says. "But nah, last time I checked, we are the man."

Cavs Fan Guide: This Cat Loves the Cavs in a Very Special Way

Even when we are down, the booming energy of thousands of fans packing into and around The Q during home and away games in the NBA Finals' Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors matchup is difficult to match. But Tina Adkins is content to skip the hoopla and watch her beloved Cavs team with her furry friend, Nala, at home. Adkins tells us why her feline is always her best basketball companion.

Miss nalas back at saying lets go cavs @foxsportsohio pic.twitter.com/IWDBJo5egg

— TINA ADKINS (@TEEMARIE0523) January 26, 2016

"It started with the first game of the season, almost as soon as Ahmaad [Crump] started announced the lineups. Nala came running down the stairs and jumped up on the cable box, and now every single Cavs game, she’s up on that cable box watching the game with me.

My father absolutely loved LeBron James, and I swear my dad’s spirit is in that cat. [LeBron’s] first season back is when my dad was getting really sick. Even when he was laying there dying, that was our thing. I’d head straight from work to the hospital and watch the Cavs game with him, and now the cat watches the Cavs games with me.

She will sit there and stare at that TV the whole time, from tipoff to the end of the fourth quarter. She barely moves. Sometimes she’ll put her paw up on the screen. Or when I start yelling at the TV, she’ll perk up and get really close to the TV.

She’s a very smart cat. She was born last July, so she’s coming up on a year. It was maybe like the seventh or eighth game of the season when I really started to notice it kept happening. And just out of emotion, I was like, OK Dad, I know you’re here with me." — as told to Kevin Stankiewicz

Cavs Fan Guide: Stylish Threads for the Finals

one of one, I'm good with those odds #TheLand #ShipToCLE #SeekNoApproval

A photo posted by Omar "O" Z. M (@officialozm) on Apr 17, 2016 at 2:54pm PDT

The NBA Finals are no time to let your style slack — especially if you’re sitting courtside. With the national media spotlight and a dose of celebs hitting town for the Cavs’ home games, we talk to Omar Madhun, who owns sneaker and fashion reseller Ship to CLE, about some tips for stunting (showing off) in style.

Hat Trick: Madhun recommends starting at the top with Tackma’s suede-brimmed Cleveland Cap ($65). The hat features the brand’s signature lightning-shaped T logo, but in Cavalier-inspired colors. The cap itself is navy blue, while the logo is buttery gold outlined in wine. “The quality speaks for itself, and it’s affordable,” Madhun says. The cap is also a statement piece at Cavs game, he says. One of the brands’ founders has ties to Cleveland, and LeBron James, J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson have all publicly sported it. “Especially in Cleveland, you can’t go wrong,” Madhun says.

Time Travel: Although there is plenty of limited-edition NBA Finals gear hitting the shelves right now, Madhun recommends rocking vintage-looking Cavalier threads. “That vintage look just beats out that new style,” Madhun says. Whether you had it buried in the closet from the ‘90s or you picked it up at a secondhand retailer is inconsequential. But for those like Madhun, who is 23, choosing the vintage route evinces a certain level of fandom. “It conveys that you’ve been a fan for a good amount of time, even if you’re young,” he says. “They assume this guy is serious if he went out of his way to buy a jacket that’s older than him.”

Bottomed Out: While narrowing down the perfect pants can be tricky because it’s slightly dependent on what you’re wearing up top, Madhun says it would be hard to miss with a pair of Nike Tech Fleece joggers ($100). They’re comfortable, stylish and most importantly, help show off your sneakers (don’t worry, we’re getting to those next). But Madhun says if you're torn between two options — one that goes better with your top and the other with your kicks — choose the former. “I wouldn’t stretch to make the shoe look good,” he says. If you’ve got top-notch soles, “people are still going to notice them.”

Kick It: The shoes take your look to the next level. Madhun’s recommendation is any pair of Nike’s Kyrie Irving line, especially the first version. But if you’re going to go with the newer Kyrie 2s, make it the exclusive Krispy Kreme edition ($165 through NikeID). “Those are super hot right now,” Madhun says. “They’ve been a hit throughout the playoffs.” Prompted to choose, Madhun says go with Kyries over LeBron James’ signature Nike shoe because they look better in a casual setting. Oh, and Madhun says please be sure to leave your Under Armour Steph Currys at home. Hopefully, that’s a no-brainer.

Cavs Fan Guide: Where to Watch, Eat and Drink Pregame

Photo courtesy Barley House Cleveland

Barley House Cleveland: Score four-bottle Bud Light and Budweiser buckets for $14 during games. Plus, the spot's $5 pizza specials every Thursday make tonight's game a tasty throwdown. 1261 W. Sixth St., Cleveland, 216-623-1700, barleyhousecleveland.com

Clevelander Bar & Grill: Celebrate with the $4 Kevin Love-inspired “Droppin’ Dimes” shot, made with Three Olives Cherry vodka. If you’d rather watch the Cavs make shots than drink them, the Clevelander will have $4 domestic 16-ounce cans, $3.25 short and $4.75 tall domestic drafts available for game time as well. 834 Huron Road E, Cleveland, 216-771-3723, clevelanderbar.com

Eat’n Park: Fans decked out in their best Cavs gear will score a free Smiley Cookie with their meal at Cleveland-area Eat’n Park locations, including Austintown, Boardman, Chapel Hill, Medina, Mentor, Parma, Warren and Willoughby locations. Various locations, eatnpark.com

Flat Iron Cafe: Need a lift to the game? The Flat Iron’s Cafe Valet will shuttle you and your friends for free. Plus, fans can score daily specials, which rotate every game, such as 50 cent wings during Game 3 June 8. 1114 Center St., Cleveland, 216-696-6968, flatironcafe.com

Free Cavs Fan Fests and Watch Parties: Need a pregame Cavs fan makeover or a Scream Team pump-up? Head over to these free fests outside The Q. Fans of all ages will enjoy games, live music by Northeast Ohio bands, food trucks, performances by the Cavalier Girls and giveaways for home games June 8 and 10. For away games June 2 and 5, snag a ticket to a watch party inside the arena for all of the entertainment from an actual game expect the players and the game shown on the humongotron. If it goes to more than four games, expect Fan Fests for future Finals home games and more Watch Parties for road games. Fan Fests, Outside of The Q, East Sixth Street and Gateway Plaza; Watch Parties, The Q, 1 Center Court, Cleveland,  nba.com/cavaliers/playoffs/guide

Hodge’s: One of downtown’s largest patios will play host to Cavs fans eager to catch both home and away games on the two 70-inch TVs installed specially for the NBA Finals. During the games, basketball fans can sip on $3 Coors and Great Lakes Brewing Co. Dortmunder Gold on draft. 668 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-771-4000, thedriftwoodgroup.com/restaurants/hodges

The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland: Both local and overnight basketball fans can celebrate the Cavs NBA Finals appearance at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. Viewing parties in the Lobby Lounge will take place every game of the Finals and the special $16 All In cocktail, made with tequila, triple sec and prickly pear liqueur and garnished with a gold sugar rim and gold dust sprinkle, will be available. Guests of the hotel’s Club Level will also receive special basketball-inspired treats. 1515 W. Third St., Cleveland, 216-623-1300, ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/cleveland 

All In cocktail

Winking Lizard: If seeing the King slam-dunk on just one screen isn’t enough, then head over to the Winking Lizard's Gateway location — just under a five-minute walk from The Q — to watch the game broadcasted on about 50 TV screens throughout the restaurant. 811 Huron Road, Cleveland, 216-589-0313, winkinglizard.com/locations/gateway

Yours Truly Restaurant: If — and when — the Cavs win the NBA championship, Yours Truly's Rockside location will serve free food the following day. There is also a Yours Truly six-item special features menu as long as the Cavs are in the NBA Finals that include bites such as the Triple Threat Notso Fries, 3 Point Swish Sliders and Brew Kettle's All For One session IPA beer. 8111 Rockside Road, Valley View, 216-524-8111, ytr.com

The NBA Finals is a Homecoming for ESPN's Jay Crawford

Chris McKendry and Jay Crawford broadcasting from East Fourth Street in November.
Photo by Phil Ellsworth, ESPN Images

On Oct. 26, 1997, Jay Crawford joined dozens of media members outside the Cleveland Indians’ clubhouse at Miami’s Pro Player Stadium. The Tribe had just lost the seventh game of the World Series to the Florida Marlins and what happened next was brutal to watch. ”They went in and ripped down all the plastic that had been put up and brought out all the cases of Champagne,” says ESPN’s Crawford, who was covering the series for WBNS-TV in Columbus. “Then they brought out all of the Cleveland championship T-shirts and caps, which are probably being worn by kids in third world countries right now.”  

Once again, a title is in the balance … along with the possibility of yet another soul-crushing defeat. The Sandusky native and Bowling Green State University graduate will join Chris McKendry on today’s noon-2:30 p.m edition of SportsCenter, live from East Fourth Street. With Game 6 tonight, the self-proclaimed Cavs fan gives us a much-needed pep talk. 

The LeBron James story has eyeballs on it from all over the country. This is the culmination of what would be a great coming home story. It’s as dominant a performance by one player as I’ve ever seen in basketball. His triple-doubles alone really set him apart from anyone else. Even when he’s not shooting well, he can still impose his will in so many ways. I really believe he’s the best all-around player ever.

This would have been a much different series with Kyrie [Irving] and Kevin [Love]. Take away two of the best three players from Golden State or any other team, and let me know how that works out. I think the Cavs actually have a better defense right now — the problem is there aren’t a lot of scoring options available other than LeBron. Never before in the history of the NBA Finals has a team missing two of its top three scorers won a game, no less two games.

For me, there’s no better place to do a show than Cleveland. There’s so much energy from the fans. I know what they’ve been through. It’s always been us against the world. This [team] is a great representation of our city right now. They wear the personality of the place these fans call home. The people here know what a hard day’s work is about.

This could be the latest chapter in a book of sports tragedies. I would say this would be right there with the 1997 Indians. Who am I picking in Game 6? I’m going Cavs. It’s not in my DNA to pick against them. I think they can draw some energy from the crowd. And if it goes to seven games, anything can happen.    — as told to Barry Goodrich

NBA GAME 5: Two Takeaways & One Huge Game at Home

           

   Maybe you’re like me?

   During this playoff run — and especially in the NBA Finals — the day after a Cavs win, you get nothing done.

   You’re glued to sports-talk TV and radio[1].

   You read tens of thousands of words of analysis on the Internet and/or actual newspapers[2].

   Unsated, you happily tumble down social-media rabbit holes.

   You even break down and talk to people, jibber-jabbering with profligate abandon both on the telephone (weirdly enough) and in person (weirder still!).

   You even dare wonder how much money you’d spend on NBA Champions gear and then hate yourself for jinxing everything and then click on some other website or go bother some other person willing to listen to your hot take on last night’s big win.

   But after a loss?

   It’s … weird.

   You’re pouty.

   Awash in avoidance.

   You don’t want to say anything about the game, read anything[3] or think about it.

   You tell yourself it’s time to put away the childish things of your silly, immoderate fandom and get some real work done.

   Unless your real work is writing a blog like this. In which case, you, like me, would no doubt spend your day the way I just spent Monday — in a funk of weary, procrastinating denial.

   Given a day to process Cleveland’s Game 5 loss to Golden State, I have two takeaways.

   First, for my money, the worst moment was also the best and the happiest, the most gorgeous and exhilarating.

   With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and the Cavs down 75-72, LeBron James drives into the lane, the Warriors defense collapses on him, he kicks the ball out to the perimeter, where his teammates zip what seems like 10 quick passes[4] before it gets back to him and he finds Iman Shumpert for a wide-open corner three.

   Tie game!

   About two minutes later (after two buckets by LeBron, a floater in the lane and a three of his own), the Cavs even led, briefly and for the final time, 80-79, before utterly collapsing down the stretch and losing 104-91.

   But there can be no argument that the Shumpert trey was the zenith of the game for Cleveland. It was a perfect specimen of the kind of offensive reign of terror this team is at its best.

   It was an increasingly frequent sight, until the departure of Kevin Love in the Boston series and utterly absent after Kyrie Irving went down in Game 1.

   How beautiful it was to see again.

   And what torture to behold it and wonder what might have been.

   My second takeaway is this: Moral victories are for losers.

   Dozens of times the past few days, I’ve heard even fellow Cleveland fans — especially them — talk about how great the Cavs will be positioned to win next year. I’ve heard more speculation about offseason free-agent contract issues (Love, Thompson, Delly, etc.) than I have X’s-and-O’s chalk-talk about how to reclaim the control of the tempo of the game that the Cavs had in the first three games of the series.

   This morning, a friend of mine — lifelong Clevelander and a knowledgeable fan — actually texted me to ask what’s better for LeBron’s legacy: to have swept the Warriors with a healthy Irving and Love or to lose in seven with what’s left.

   Seriously? C’mon man. The former!

   Who am I to hold a grudge against LeBron — quite the contrary! — but I don’t give a damn about his legacy[5].

   I care about winning a title in Cleveland.

   After 51 years of waiting for next year, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s be present. Let’s savor the agony and the ecstasy of the moment.

   We’re home.

   We’re playing tonight, two games away from a championship.

   If you’re like me, that’s all that really matters.   // Mark Winegardner

---

[1] Except for all programming involving Steven A. Smith, Skip Bayless, Colin Cowherd and Tony Kornheiser-free Michael Wilbon, because, seriously: How are any of those guys still a thing?

[2] If, like me, you’re, say, 53 years old. Otherwise, yeah: Just online.

[3] Typically, the newspaper stays on the stoop or in the tube, untouched.

[4] It was only three.

[5] That’s not entirely true. I do. But not yet. Not right now.

NBA Finals: Game 4 Postmortem

   

   

   Before Game 4, I ditched the perfectly adequate spread in the media dining room in the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena and headed over to East Fourth Street, relishing my every inch-along moment in a dense, exhilarated crowd where just about everyone but me was sporting Cleveland garb[1].

   Not, I should add, just Cavaliers stuff. In fact, I’d say at least half of it emphasized the Cleveland itself, first and foremost[2]. Things like believeland. Or cleveland is the city. This isn’t normal. You don’t see a whole lot of this in championship games in New York or LA, cities too large to have their identities so entwined with that of their sports teams. And neither do you see it in smaller cities like San Antonio, St. Louis or (shudder) Pittsburgh — places that have both won recent titles and been only rarely the butt of cruel jokes at the expense of any suffering. The fact that you see it in title-rich Boston, of course, is why Boston fans have become the most insufferable in the country. But Cleveland’s yearning for redemption is … well, if you’ve made it to the second graf of a blog on the Cleveland Mag website, I can’t imagine you need me to explain.

   Even a surprising amount of Cavs merch made a nod toward the team’s history. There was quite a lot from the orange-and-blue era and many replica jerseys of retired players[3], presumably to send the message that the wearer ain’t no bandwagon-jumper.

   I managed to burrow my way into the Greenhouse Tavern and bully my way to the bar[4], where I scored a seat at the far end. Next to me was a woman in v-necked wine-and-gold shirt picturing the retro Cavalier dude and her date, dressed in immaculately pressed, logo-free togs that would pass casual-Friday muster in the most staid law firm, though he turned out to be a New York-raised Jackson Hole, Wyoming, real estate agent. She was his massage therapist until she moved here to start her own business. He came to visit and wouldn’t tell me how much he paid for the tickets because he didn’t want her to think he was trying to impress her[5].

   The massage therapist said she wasn’t a huge basketball fan but she had deep family ties to Cleveland had been “living and dying” with the Cavs all season. “When I came home,” she said, “everyone joked that I was just trying to be like LeBron.”

   As for Realtor guy, he was just rooting for a good series, though as a New York Rangers fan, he knew what it felt like to suffer for a long time and then finally be redeemed.

   The woman and I made eye contact. Yeah, right, the look said. Realtor guy don’t know from suffering.

   “Of course,” he said, scrambling for the save, “I want her to be happy, so I’m rooting for Cleveland.”

   “Of course,” I said.

   Two days later, as I write this, I kind of envy Realtor guy and anyone else who doesn’t have a dog in the fight that this NBA Finals has become.

   For them (and, judging from the stellar TV ratings, there are multitudes of such people), this has been a delightfully a close, hard-played series, rich with storylines, MVP winners and unlikely heroes. A series that both displays and challenges the state-of-the-art basketball strategies. A series in which first one team split games at home, then the other team followed suit. A series that’s tied 2-2 and seems destined to go seven — which, really, is the only rooting interest you have.

   They enjoy every minute of it without worrying that maybe they’re crazy.

   For Cleveland fans[6] — at least those of us living and dying with the Cavs — we’ve been … if not literally living and dying, at least kind of, well … manic.

   Before Game 1, we were hopeful.

   After it, we were distraught

   Before Game 2, we braced for what seemed like a certain 4-0 sweep.

   After it, our spirits soared, flying along with the team back to Cleveland with home court advantage.

   Before Game 3, we were at best cautiously optimistic.

   After it, with Cleveland up 2-1 and with (historically) a 74 percent chance of winning, we allowed ourselves, for the first time, to get serious about how we’d really feel not if but when a Cleveland team wins a title in our lifetime.

   Before Game 4, we’d allowed ourselves to get downright giddy.

   After it, we weren’t crushed the way we were after Game 1. We were ground down. Emotionally exhausted and ground down. We woke resigned to losing the series in seven.

   Before Game 5, a lot of us will be braced for more disappointment.

   But our believeland clothing will betray us. And snippets of old songs will creep into our minds. Tonight the orange and blue delivers, some of us will sing[7]. Hard workin’ town, hard-workin’ team.   // Mark Winegardner

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[1] Not while wearing press credentials. Hey, I’m a pro. There is a code to observe. I will confess that this series has driven me to violate the no-cheering-in-the-pressbox a few times, though I have recovered speedily and then dutifully swallowed my shame.

[2] Way more than that, if you concede that the ubiquitous all in slogan makes a nod toward the region’s soul-deep involvement with this team.

[3] Zydrunas Ilgauskus, who wore #11, remains #1 in the hearts of at least a dozen people I saw that night.

[4] That’s just an expression. Bullying is wrong! All night, I politely chanted excuse me, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me the way Hare Krishnas chant Hare Krishna, Krishna Hare. I digress, but where did all the Hare Krishnas go?

[5] “Twenty-two apiece,” he said when she went to the bathroom. That’s thousand. Plus service charges. He offered to show me his receipt on his iPhone, but I said I’d take his word for it.

[6] Probably for Golden State fans, too, although as fear overcomes me and I feel this series slipping away, I’m not of a mind to be empathetic to you guys.

[7] Actually, this is my ringtone.